Our supported charities:

We shall be supporting two local charities which are "Gift of Sight" and the "Romsey Young Carers Project". The funds we raise will be assigned as follows

• " The Romsey Young Carers Project (RYCP) is Roke Manor Research's (my employer's) charity of the year and as such Roke has committed to match any employee donations made to this charity. All sponsorship raised from my colleagues at Roke will be donated to RYCP.
• All funds raised from sponsors not connected with Roke Manor Research will be donated to Gift of Sight.

Gift of Sight is the primary charity and our original intention was simply to raise funds for GOS alone. However, Roke's commitment to RYCP means that more money will be donated to charity overall, hence our decision to support both charities

About Romsey Young Carers Project (RYCP):

Some information about the Young Carers can be found here.

RYCP is a project centred on Romsey and Southern Test Valley which helps children and young persons under 18 who care within their own families. They currently support 36 young carers with their youngest child being 5, and their oldest 16. RYCP is a very small charity which relies heavily on local volunteers ('Befrienders') to support children and young persons who care within their own families. Befriending is the lifeline these children often need. It can include swimming, cycling, or theatre trips, or even just offering a listening and understanding ear. These small things make a wealth of difference to their daily lives.

About Gift of Sight::

The Gift of Sight Appeal is based at Southampton University Hospital. The charity's website can be found at http://www.giftofsight.org.uk

The Gift of Sight Appeal funds world class research into the prevention and treatment of blindness. Established in 2004, the Appeal is managed by the University of Southampton and funds research undertaken at the Gift of Sight Research Centre at Southampton General Hospital.

BG
5 May 2008